Fiction, poetry and musings by Gregory T. Janetka

Going on temporary hiatus

Last December I quit my job in order to travel the country and finish a novel I had started over five years ago. I’m happy to say I accomplished both those goals and that it left me deliriously happy. It also left me on the brink of poverty and so the time has come to jump back into the normal workforce to make some dough to feed my writing habit.

A few weeks ago I took a job as a barista at Barnes and Noble, a job I first did back in Illinois nearly ten years ago. I made many good friends there and as they have become successful lawyers, social workers and other well-employed members of society, I return for another stint making coffee for minimum wage. So it goes. If you’re going to pursue an artistic dream you do whatever you need to do. If I fail miserably, I fail miserably. If I take on some career just to survive but never seriously try to pursue writing, I’m dead already.

After accepting that job I saw a posting for a temporary position with Ballotpedia, who I worked for for the last five or so years. They’re a great non-partisan resource for information on all levels of politics and policy, and starting next week and though the end of 2014 I will be helping to cover school board elections across the country for them. But, due to carpal tunnel issues that have plagued me for years now, I know that all the typing will leave me unable to do any other writing while I’m working for them, and so I have to put aside this blog and my fiction until then. I may end up posting some things here randomly from time to time, but most likely I’ll see you all in 2015. I’ve sent out the manuscript of my novel and am hoping for the best with that. In the meantime, time to make the most dreadfully necessary of substances, money.

So until later, cheers. Here’s a picture of me trying to write while my cat had other ideas: